Ciudad Peridad Lost City Trek - Colombia

We had heard the Lost City Trek was a must in Colombia as it was like walking through Jurassic Park. To do the trek we flew to Santa Marta on the out skirts in a hostel called Dreamers Hostel. We booked our tour directly from there so it was very easy. Friends that had been before us had decided not to do it as the heat was too intense and opted for beach time instead. We thought about giving it a miss but our mate Barry had bragged that it was up there in his best treks and he's trekked in Nepal and the Himalayas! We had to do it.

Not leaving any time to rest we booked the trip for the next day and polished our trekking boots ready for battle. In all honesty we were anxious as we hadn’t trekked for a long time and we were told it was challenging for those that don’t trek much, which was us. So we were picked up by a car and huddled in with 2 Germans from our hostel, an American and a crazy Guy from Israel. He started shouting loudly about how he wanted to use the guides machete to kill a live chicken. I thought to myself great, this guy's bloody nuts. 

Food was given to us before we started the hike and we met the rest of our group. Two more Americans, another German, one guy from Belgium and 2 men from Colombia. You can do the trek in 5 days which makes it pretty easy going but the majority of our team wanted to do 4 days as they were mostly on vacation and wanted to use the extra to get on with their holiday. Left with little to no choice we agreed to do the 4 days which meant 7-8 hours of walking every day. 

The first day was only 5 hours to get to the first camp but it was challenging as it was a shock to the system. We climbed a vertical mud hill for 1 hour and we arrived on top totally soaked in sweat. The guides had fresh watermelon and water waiting for us after every hard climb so it was really nice. Plus it was good to climb with no altitude to deal with; you could actually get your breath back. We also walked past a river where we all jumped in, it was refreshingly cool.

 The scenery was already stunning as we walked deeper into the jungle. You could see mangroves hanging from above your head and the roar of the river somewhere in-between the dense forest of trees. On the last day we arrived at camp and slept on hammocks anticipating an early wakeup call ready for our long hike. The food was really good, good home cooking which reminded us of being on the boat. 

The 2nd day was tough! By 11am we had already covered 5 hours and were told we had another 5 hours to go. I was already done and the thought of more walking was enough to make me cry. But we carried on with our sticks in hand one step after another in the intense heat. 

Eventually you forget that you’re trekking because the scenery was amazing. It was like the trip you would dream of as a kid, hacking through the jungle, crossing rapid rivers using a rope, walking over rickety old bridges and climbing up cascading waterfalls on your hands and knees. 

Our guide killed a poisonous snake with his machete, it was really cool! When we arrived at camp that night we were all so relived and happy. It was a long day. We had a bunk bed to sleep in with a mosquito net in the middle of the jungle. We were told to turn over our shoes before putting it on as scorpions are known to creep in there during the night. Even with the might of a thousand critters humming into our ears we all fell asleep fast from the exhaustion.

The 3rd day we headed to the Lost City which was a vertical climb up a 1200 steps that you couldn’t really call steps. It more like concrete slabs laid on top of each other covered in green moss which made it extremely slippery. We had a Colombian guy with us who was 73 and it amazed me that he managed the steps at all. He trekked with us at a moderate speed and was completely fine. The trip had been a present from his grandchildren along with a camera. He was snap happy walking merrily along the long arduous trek in his stride. I hope I am as agile as he is at 73, probably not.

To give a bit of background, Ciudad Peridad was inhabited by the indigenous tribe called the Tairona. The Lost City is speculated to have been an area where the Tairona people gathered. The Taironas who lived on the beach would come to the Lost City and offer fish whilst the Tairona people from the Mountains would bring grains and fruit etc. It was also believed to be where the spiritual leaders lived like the Shaumans (witch doctors that often ruled tribes as they had the spiritual power to travel the underworld using herbal psychedelic such as Ayuaska). 

As well as trading, masonry and welding were also done here. This cross linked to the information we learnt at the Gold Museum in Bogota. The Ciudad Peridad was abandoned by the Taironas during the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish would often kill and loot their gold so the Taironas decided to move further up the mountains, out of reach from the Spanish. 

So the city lay untouched for decades until tomb raiders found it in the 1970s. The tours only began 1984 with a handful of people going and the tours stopped when in 2005 8 tourist where kidnapped by guerillas who were running the area at the time. Until only recently, Colombia has found itself back on the tourist trail and the Lost City trek is gaining more and more interest. Personally, I found the Lost City trek better than Machu Pichu. With the hundreds of tourists that visit Machu Pichu everyday it has become somewhat like a theme park. 

You have to queue like cattle through turn stiles and fight your way through a crowd which makes it loose the magic for me. But when you visit the Lost City and cross rivers and dense jungle to get there you can almost imagine that you are finding the city yourself for the first time. The only other people there are people from your trek and other small groups but that’s it. It’s so quiet and really cut off from western life. Unfortunately, I do think in 10 years time the Lost City will probably follow the fate of Machu Pichu but I feel lucky to have visited whilst it still felt like a hidden treasure.

The rest of the day was spent walking back to a camp ready for our walk back in the morning. As we walked along rain started to pour heavily and we were fortunate to have already crossed the river when it began. Otherwise it would have been impossible to cross as the once tame river turned into a whirl pool, furiously spitting at the sides. As we trekked on the rain became more and more heavy and the thunder crashed over our heads followed by the lightening that felt so close. It became hard to distinguish the small streams from the paths as the trail became one big river. We waded through just hoping no snakes would be found washed up near our feet. As we reached the end of the covered jungle, we had run fast across an open rice field in fear that lightening would strike us as the storm was now in full force. We waited it out inside a shack we found but the rain was not stopping so we carried on wanting to reach camp before dark. Wet to the bone we trudged on and somehow made it just as the rain subsided. What a journey it was!

The 4^th day we powered through and it was a hard walk consisting of 4 hours just uphill. The mud roads where also destroyed in the storm so this made it harder. Some of the older group, including the 73 year old decided to only to walk half the way and complete the rest on the 5^th day. I don’t blame them as it was very hard, even for us young folks. At the end everyone staggered to the place where we would have lunch and you could not help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Also over the 4 days the group had got quite close so we all had a hug and a group photo. The guides had said they never had a group that stuck together so much which was nice. At the end we tipped the guides as they had been brilliant and they thanked us and asked that we spread the word that Colombia is okay to visit now and the Lost City trek is safe. So please come and enjoy their beautiful country. Once again you can see an example of a country on the brink of change, ready to leave the darkness behind them.

Walking through rivers

Michael, Mark and Maria

Jumping in the river- very refreshing

Michael, Fabian and Mark

Break after our first long hike- SWEATY!

The beautiful scenery as we walk further down to Ciudad Peridad

Walking with our make shift sticks through the mud

The indigenous that live in the area

Me living the Jungle Jo dream

Joe from america and Michael

The crazy jew and a chicken- hide the machettes

The huts they live in

Cute little boy- you can tell boy from girl as boys wear boots and the girls have to be barefoot!

Typical hut

Tired!!!!

Thats pops on the left

Break!!!

Beautiful Tree

Crossing the many rivers

Thats one way of getting across

our beds for the night

The whole crew before our 1200 steps

Off we go!

Fabian

Strong man!

We found a chameleon! This before the guide killed it as apparently is very poisenous! yikes

Ruins

A couple that hikes together stays together haha

Ruins at the top

The lost city!